Yana Wilson, 17-year-old golf phenom, lands Transcend Capital Advisors NIL deal

While football and basketball stars have generated tons of headlines in the NIL Era, savvy businesses understand name, image and likeness can be a powerful marketing tool with rising stars in other sports. The newest NIL deal by Transcend Capital Advisors with Yana Wilson is a perfect example.

Wilson is one of golf’s next big things.

Wilson recently won the AJCA Girls Invitational and finished runner-up at the 2023 Junior PGA Championship. Earlier this summer, she won the amateur division of the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open and finished runner-up at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

Before that, Wilson captured the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship to earn her first U.S. Women’s Open start. She’s also a two-time Drive, Chip & Putt age-group champion. Wilson represented Team USA in the PING Junior Solheim Cup and was a member of the Junior Ryder Cup Team. In 2021, Wilson advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior, losing to eventual champion and world No. 1 Rose Zhang.

Wilson won more than 100 tournaments by the age of 15, including becoming the youngest player ever to win the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Bell Tournament when she was just 14.

Wilson is committed to playing college golf at Oregon. But it was smart for Transcend to link up with Wilson early on in her career through NIL because she looks set on having a lengthy – and successful – professional career ahead.

“I am truly grateful to Transcend for believing in my potential,” Wilson said in a news release. “I am honored and excited to be a member of Team Transcend. This support will allow me to focus on my game and to strive for excellence both on and off the golf course.”

Yana Wilson building strong NIL resume

While she’s still working on a strong social media presence, Yana Wilson has promoted Nike, Taylor Made and Polo Ralph Lauren on her accounts. She also signed representation with WME Sports.

A division of Endeavor, WME has a long list of clientele in tennis and golf.

It has built a strong roster of NIL talent, highlighted by LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne. Dunne is the biggest name in NIL with 7.5 million TikTok followers paired with another 4.5 million on Instagram. She has become a priority for brands, too, signing endorsement deals with American Eagle and Body Armor. 

WME has invested time and dollars into NIL, forming a team to locate and facilitate partnerships for its college athletes. Garrett Yaralian and Jason Rosenberg lead the team.

With that representation and rising stardom, don’t be surprised if the deal with Transcend is the tip of the iceberg.

“We are proud to continue our commitment by supporting Yana on her journey to golf greatness,” Brian Gorczynski, managing partner of Transcend said in a release. “We admire Yana’s determination. Her work ethic and commitment to excellence. We are thrilled to welcome her as the first female member of Team Transcend.”